Love in the time of Trump: Dating sites for politically passionate

December 8, 2016 1:12 pm

By AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, Los Angeles, United States, Dec 8 – The encounter had seemed promising enough, but the couple brought together by an online dating site failed to connect because of one glaring, irreconcilable difference: He was a Donald Trump supporter, she was not.

It’s a scene played out again and again in the dating world: In an increasingly partisan and polarized country, similarity in political viewpoints has become a major criterion when choosing — or weeding out — prospective love interests.

But now, new dating websites are cropping up to take the guesswork out of pinning down political leanings.

One site, TrumpSingles.com specifically caters to fans of the divisive real estate billionaire.

Adored by millions of Americans, Trump is reviled by at least as many, some of whom are still mourning his election last month as America’s next president and the defeat of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

A similar site was set up for supporters of Bernie Sanders, the tousle-haired Vermont senator whose fiery rhetoric and embrace of environmental causes earned him a fervent and loyal following among liberals and voters under the age of 30.

– ‘ Making Dating Great Again’ –

TrumpSingles says it has registered 12,000 people with a goal of “Making Dating Great Again” — a riff on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

Unlike conventional dating sites such as Match.com and OKCupid, the site screens its users to ensure they are not trolls seeking to make trouble, but truly supporters of the president-elect, who takes the oath of office next month.

“I thought it was actually a nice idea because I’ve heard so many stories of people going on dates and everything is going fun and the political talk starts and kills any chance of a relationship happening,” TrumpSingles creator David Goss says.

Some 15 percent of Americans use online dating sites, mostly singles under the age of 24, according to the Pew Research Center.

Many have no interest in hooking up with those who support Trump, whose retrograde views on immigrants and women are widely rejected.

“No Trump supporters” has even become a common refrain on Tinder, Happn and other dating apps.

But some subscribers to the TrumpSingles website can be loud and proud in their support for the billionaire businessman.

Others may be “in the closet” over expressing support for Trump, perhaps after years of voting for Democrats or because they live in Democratic cities such as Philadelphia.

A cursory look at the site shows the majority of those registered are white — similar to the broad swathe of the American electorate that carried the Republican to power.

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Agence France-Presse is a global news agency delivering fast, in-depth coverage of the events shaping our world from wars and conflicts to politics, sports, entertainment and the latest breakthroughs in health, science and technology.